Classic Corvette Suspension - A Great Bite Makes A Greater Vette

The ever popular second-generation Corvette remains the shortest-lived production run of all the Corvettes. With only five model years, the C2 also offers limited availability, which certainly affects the aftermarket parts supply. Luckily, the C2 shares the same chassis platform as the C3, which leaves aftermarket suppliers the ability to manufacture parts for '63-'82 Corvettes. While the C2 Corvettes are some of the most beautiful of all Vettes, the handling and drivability leave something to be desired. SpeedDirect has the solution.

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SpeedDirect's Shark Bite aluminum upper control arms along with a set of Shark Bite coilover shocks work to greatly improve handling and enjoyment that comes with Corvette ownership. The suspension geometry, which directly translates to handling and cornering ability, gets a much needed boost from the Shark Bite upper A-arms due to the increase in positive caster. This adds stability in the corners and reduces bumpsteer. The Shark Bite arms also relocate the front roll center which makes for a significant increase in handling. They are also lighter than both stock and steel tubular control arms. Each arm reduces 4 lbs over the stock control arm; any weight savings is valuable, so even 8 pounds can make a difference. The A-arms require no modification to the vehicle, making them easy to install and won't detract from the value of the car. When ordered with the optional Howe ball joints, the kit is complete and ready to go.

The Shark Bite coilover kit adds to the handling and cornering improvements by adding not only better shock absorption, but also adjustability. Coilover shocks allow 4 inches of total ride height adjustment, and with a set of spanner wrenches, they can be adjusted in minutes. The kit includes QA1 double-adjustable shocks. The shocks feature independent rebound and compression adjustments, with 24 individual settings, for a total of 576 unique combinations. If you can't get what you want out of these shocks, you are never going to get it. While that number may be a little intimidating, the reality is that the shocks are easily adjusted and once you get close, the fine tuning is pretty simple. A good place to start is right in the middle, then drive it on various types of road-city, rural, highway, etc-to get the feel for them. You will probably have them dialed in within a few days, though it is a good idea to break in the suspension for a few hundred miles before tweaking the settings.

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We ordered a set of Shark Bite upper A-arms polished, as well as the Shark Bite coilover kit with big-block springs for our '67 roadster. This is a full frame-off restomod project, and these parts are just what were needed to add the much needed improvements to the handling and drivability. Red Line Auto Sports in Wilson, Oklahoma, performed all of the work on this project and let us hang out for a day while they added some bite to this shark.

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Classic Corvette Suspension - A Great Bite Makes A Greater Vette

The process begins with dropping the spindles. This can be a little tricky, especially since our '67 is currently just a bare frame. The coil springs require a fair amount of height to fully decompress. Once the tension was removed from the spring, a pickle-fork was used separate the upper ball joints.

The spindle can be left in place; you don't even have to remove the rotor or brake caliper if you don't want to. We are going through everything, so it was not an issue.

The upper A-arms are held on by two studs on the frame. When pulling the arms, make sure you save the original alignment washers as they will get it close until it can be properly aligned.

While you're at it, now is a great time to do some preventative maintenance, like replacing the lower ball joints.

The upper arms slid on the original studs. It may be necessary to rotate the arms to clear the frame mount.

Then the original hardware was reinstalled to secure the arms. 50 ft lbs of torque is the required spec.

The spindles were reinstalled and torqued to spec on the lower ball joint.

The threads on the QA1 shocks were coated with a little anti-seize compound. This will keep the spring adjustment nuts from locking up on the shock body.

The spring nuts were then threaded on the shock and set to the lowest thread. This positions the car at its lowest point. Setting the spring higher will make for a much more difficult time installing the spring.

The optional Torrington bearings really are a must for this kit. The center bearing rides on the pair of flat washers. This reduces the friction when adjusting the spring.

The spring slides over the shock, with the little end resting on the bearing assembly.

The welded-on shock nuts on the inside of the lower A-arm must be removed. A chisel with a hammer made quick work of the job.

Here's where things get interesting. Since we had no weight on the frame, we had to improvise on compressing the springs. Using a two-ton strap, the lower hook was attached to the floor jack, and the upper hook to the frame. This puts the tension on the frame we needed to compress the spring. This is about the only way to do it, short of bolting the frame to the floor. If you must do it this way, be careful.

Once compressed, the upper ball joint was bolted to the arm and torqued to 50 ft. lbs.

The cotter pin was installed to make sure everything stays where it needs to.

The A-arm needs to sit as far back as possible (without touching the mount) on the car. Using a brass hammer and a socket, it was tapped into place.

The shock stud was bolted down tight as well.

Job done. The chassis looks even better now that the polished arms are in place. The entire job took about four hours, not too bad for significantly improved handling.

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